Bilal Akkawy (18-0-1, 14 KOs) of Sydney Australia made his U.S. debut on the Golden Boy on ESPN undercard live from The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. Akkawy has seen some tough rounds leading up to his bout with Cristian Olivas (16-2, 13 KOs) Thursday night.
The Aussie has been sharing the ring sparring Canelo Alvarez for the past few weeks in preparation for his in preparation highly anticipated encounter with Gennady Golovkin.
Tonight, Akkawy proved why he was chosen as a worthy sparring opponent for the Mexican superstar. From opening to closing bell, Akkawy, trained now by Eddy Reynoso, controlled the pace and action round by round. Akkawy demonstrated many of the defining characteristics that could make him a fighter to look out for.
From stiff power shots, a keen sense of anticipation, and monstrous combinations, Akkawy proved to be on a different level than his opponent. Olivas demonstrated tremendous chin, taking shots both to the body and head but handling them as well as one could without being knocked out.
The experience that comes with fighting one of the best fighters in the world is priceless and that experience seemed to carry Akkawy through the rounds, hardly ever being hurt.
Final scorecards read 80-71 x3 all for Akkawy. Akkawy didn’t get the KO he wanted but boxing a complete shutout will have to do. Now officially with Reynoso in his corner, it’s intriguing to see what fans and
